Nine Inch Nails Reveal Why Police Searched Their Bus For Axl Rose

Sean Beavan, who was an unofficial live member with Nine Inch Nails for several years in the 90’s and later worked with Guns N’ Roses on Chinese Democracy, discussed opening for GNR in 1991 with NIN in a new interview with Guns N’ Roses Central, and how Axl Rose did not show up at the show. Alternative Nation transcribed Beavan’s story.

“(Laughs) There were shades of World War 2 going on in the audience. They were throwing sausages, and holding up their tickets going: ‘Guns N’ Roses! Guns N’ Roses!’ It was pretty funny, but we felt pretty confident, we thought it was crazy, but Axl really loved us, and really wanted us to go on tour with them, so they were being super supportive.

We do our show, and it’s crazy and gets nutty, then Skid Row goes on, and the crowd goes crazy. Then it starts to get really crazy, and we’re backstage, and we hear that Axl is in Paris. So we snuck out as fast as we could, we got stopped by the police on the way out, and they searched our bus for Axl, looking for Axl.

We made it out, so we got lucky, and we got out before the big riot started. It was 84,000 people waiting for Axl, and he was in Paris. When we did Wembley he showed up.”

Beavan added that at the time the only GNR member he met was Slash, but that years later he worked closely with Rose on Chinese Democracy before leaving the project in 2000.